ZOOTO-PASS
by PredAndPrey
Summary: Judy Hopps is the first rabbit Inspector at the ZPD. Her job is to respond to threats that require direct mammal intervention, as dictated by the Sibyl system, a law enforcement system of software and hardware that can quantify the thoughts and personality tendencies of mammals. The result is referred to as the mammal's Psycho-Pass. How will her first night as Inspector go?
1. Among Wolves

Judy Hopps squeezed through the legs of various mammals in the mob of onlookers. The rain kept pouring relentlessly, as if spurred on by the heavy atmosphere of the night. A tragedy was taking place inside of the Lionheart Drone factory. The owner of the site, a lion by the name of Leodore Lionheart, had reportedly committed a murder of one of his factory workers. He then urged the rest of the workers to vacate the building. Not wanting to stay in a building with a psychopathic lion, the workers understandably complied. They were all around her now, chattering in a panic about what happened. From her briefing and the nearby chatter of the workers, Judy understood this to be an incredibly dangerous assignment.

This was also her first assignment as a ZPD Inspector.

Judy ran up to the towering cape buffalo who was standing at the entrance to the factory. With a bow, she managed to introduce herself to her fellow Inspector for the first time despite her shortness of breath.

"Inspector Bogo, I'm Inspector Hopps. It's nice to finally meet you, sir."

The buffalo sized up the puny bunny before him with a glare. Nevertheless, he firmly responded to her. "Greetings. Sorry if I'm skipping pleasantries but I have a mess on my hooves. I won't be able to treat you like a newbie; I need you to pull your weight tonight, Inspector Hopps."

Judy simply nodded, hearing the challenge in Bogo's voice. She faced this challenge head-on, making sure to speak competently and boldly. "I heard as much. Mister Lionheart had registered a problematic Psycho-Pass as of a few days ago. Tonight something must have escalated and he lashed out."

"And did you know he took a hostage?"

Judy felt a shock run through her, the danger of this assignment now doubled with an innocent life on the line.

"Hostage?" she pressed.

"A new development. She's a puma. Female. She was one of the workers. Lionheart's therapist was having an appointment with him in his office. This zebra therapist told him that his Psycho-Pass had clouded to the point where he would need to be institutionalized. He didn't take well to the idea of isolation, so he became violent with him. Grabbed the zebra and demanded that he help him hide it."

"Did the workers attest to this?"

Bogo nodded. "Two animals went to investigate once screaming was heard from Lionheart's office. The gazelle who told me is somewhere in the crowd back there. The other animal is the puma hostage. As for the therapist, he's laying in a puddle of blood on the office floor."

Judy shuddered at the thought.

Bogo pointed out towards the distance. "Here they are."

Judy spun around, eyes tracking a large vehicle approaching them. "A paddy wagon?" she spoke.

The vehicle came to a halt and the large door on the back began to open. Bogo gave a grunt and continued. "Don't think of the individuals you are about to meet as mammals. Their Psycho-Passes have reached critical levels. Normally, they would be isolated as latent criminals, but instead they are here thanks to their particular talents. They are Enforcers. They exist solely to hunt criminals. And as of today, they are your subordinates."

Judy stood in awe as the metal door was now fully open. Of course she knew what Enforcers were beforehand, but the notion of being so close to latent criminals was just now beginning to impact her. There they were, so close in proximity to her instead of out of sight in cells.

The Enforcers stepped out one by one. The first mammal she saw was the biggest surprise to Judy. He was a moose, standing tall over Judy at roughly Bogo's height. He sported a worn brown trench coat with a suit underneath. On his face was an even more worn expression. Despite the apparent weariness of his face, he managed to stand with a purpose, and even gave Judy a warm, respectful smile. There was a collar around his neck.

The second mammal to step out was a weasel. He wore an official ZPD jacket. Underneath, he wore a white tank top with a pink tie haphazardly thrown around his neck and a pair of jeans ridden with holes. He grinned at Judy with amusement, and even let out an audible chuckle. 'Yeah, Inspector Bunny, laugh it up. You certainly aren't the first.' Judy thought to herself. Just one look at him gave the impression that he was a greasy individual, but Judy tried to dispel these thoughts, not wanting to start off on the wrong paw. The same type of collar was around his neck as well, leading Judy to believe all Enforcers had to wear them.

The third mammal out of the wagon was a stocky badger. The fur atop her head gave the impression of a spiky white mohawk of sorts, and she had piercings in her ears. She simply wore the standard black suit, opting for pants instead of the skirt Judy wore. She looked around her with an almost paranoid expression, as if she was ready to fight anybody and everybody. Once she seemed at ease with scanning the area, she looked towards Judy with an earnest smile and a furrowed brow, as if to tell Judy that she was ready for action. The complete about-face in her demeanor made Judy wonder what went on in her head.

The last mammal out of the wagon captivated Judy the most. She tensed up upon seeing the fox, her father's warnings about foxes lingering in her mind. He wore the standard black suit and tie, choosing to leave the jacket open, loosen the tie, and undo the top buttons of his shirt. Both the trail of cigarette smoke and his long bushy tail dragged behind his tall, lithe frame with an ethereal quality to them. After taking one last drag of his cigarette before tossing it to the ground, he looked up and met Judy's eyes. His green eyes were stunning. She felt like she was under a microscope; of course she was the focus of all of them, but this fox in particular made her feel like she was being picked apart. At the same time, he seemed to remain calm and indifferent about her. His expression was for the most part, neutral.

However, she couldn't shake the feeling that this fox was asking her something. Asking if she was capable. If she would be special.

"All right, all of you. I'd go through introductions, but frankly, I don't care. We have a pressing matter at hand. All of you Enforcers need to know is that Inspector Hopps here is your second owner now." Bogo's voice boomed over towards the Enforcers.

"Big Guy, I gotta admit I didn't believe you when you grunted out something about a bunny! But here she is! This is gonna be a riot I tell ya-"

"Shut it, Wesselton." Bogo huffed. "We'll see how the bunny does. But you won't see it firsthand. You and Honey are with me."

Judy couldn't help but notice the manner in which Bogo sneered certain words. Bunny. Enforcers. It was an understatement to say that Bogo didn't expect much from his new partner. That didn't surprise Judy. What surprised her was his apparent contempt for their subordinates. She wondered if the Enforcers were deserving of such contempt. They were latent criminals, after all. Capable of terrible things. Judy wasn't sure if she could find it in herself to trust any of them.

Honey got riled up and put the weasel in a headlock upon hearing this. "You hear that, Wesselton, buddy? You and me tearin' it up!"

The weasel began sputtering and wiggling in midair, having a hard time breathing past the badger's friendly iron chokehold upon him. "It's...Weaselton..." he managed to choke out.

Bogo and his two Enforcers grabbed guns from the wheeled gun cart and took the cart in with them, disappearing into the factory.

Judy stood there, afraid to take any initiative forward, the thoughts of failure locking her joints up. Something nudged her back, and she turned to face the moose.

"Wanna wager which one of these Dominators is yours?" he asked with a hint of playfulness in his voice. In one hand was a very large pistol, and in the other hand, extended towards Judy handle-first, was a much smaller pistol.

The gun was a black hunk of iron with neon blue lights running all along it. The Dominator. The impressive weapon of the ZPD. Sibyl's Eyes.

Judy gingerly took the Dominator in her paws. "Thank you." she gratefully replied.

The Dominator interface lit up before her eyes, and began speaking to her in a robotic, feminine voice. "Dominator Portable Psychological Diagnosis and Suppression System has been activated. User authentication, Inspector Judy Hopps. Affiliation: Public Safety Bureau, Zootopia Police Department. Dominator usage approval confirmed."

"So, what do you think we should do?" she asked her Enforcers.

"I wouldn't be averse to hanging back and letting Buffalo Butt deal with this on his own." The fox spoke up. He gave a yawn while inspecting the Dominator in his own paws.

Judy's suspicions were affirmed. The contempt clearly went both ways between Bogo and the Enforcers.

The moose chuckled lightly. "Cmon, Slick. Don't you wanna show the new Inspector your stuff?"

"Not much of a point to that. She won't last long." The fox muttered.

"Hey!" Judy shouted, having found her inner fire. The fox quirked an eyebrow at her, unimpressed. She steeled herself, putting aside her lingering fears about foxes. Right now, he was just another animal who doubted her, and she had the power to put him in his place. "I am your boss, in case you forgot. There is a mammal in danger, and we're going to work together to save her. Any questions?"

The fox gave a smug grin, apparently amused from being chewed out by a bunny. "No questions, Miss."

"Hopps." she stated with a note of finality.

"Fournier. Maurice Fournier." The moose spoke up with a motion towards himself. "And this sly individual over here is Nick Wilde. And this-" Maurice paused to hand Judy a small touch screen device, "is the leash handle."

"Leash?" Judy asked.

Maurice pointed at the collar around his neck. The same collar that all the Enforcers wore. "These collars track us Enforcers. They'll also shock us, if you are so inclined. Use that device to track the positions of Enforcer collars and Bogo's device so you know where everybody is. And if we try to get away, you can make sure we're punished before we get too far. You can shock Mister Wilde right now for fun, if you want to."

Judy stood there in a bit of a shock at the moose's helpfulness.

Maurice chuckled. "Kidding, kidding; he's an alright guy. Wondering why I handed you all the control so easily? Well, believe it or not we're like you. Just want to get the job done. You can also use your Dominator against us, since we're latent criminals."

Judy nodded. "I...I Understand."

Maurice motioned towards the entrance. "Shall we?"

Judy decided to put her trust in this Maurice. He seemed to mean well and have experience. Nick had already passed Judy and was now walking ahead of Maurice, leading their group. Judy spurred herself on into the factory, readying herself for whatever dangers may await them inside.


	2. Pitch Black

The lights were low, still on schedule for nighttime hours. The factory was of course ignorant of the crime that happened earlier. The corridors felt like caves, so quiet, vast, and dark. Judy realized why Nick was leading the trio, having the best night vision. Come to think of it, the reason why Enforcers are predators is due to their natural affinity for hunting. It's in their DNA, after all. Night vision, scent tracking, aggressive capabilities...it all only made Judy wonder more about how the moose ended up with the collar around his neck.

"Hey." Maurice spoke up as they walked through the empty factory.

"Hm?" Judy responded, trying to keep quiet.

"I heard you were top of your class."

"Yeah."

"Well, I hope this doesn't seem unreasonable for me to ask this of you, but forget everything you learned back in the academy. None of it will prepare you for anything you'll see tonight and every night after. Despite our inner thoughts being transparent to machines, you'll find that logic and theories will do you no good. You, me, and Sibyl can analyze all we want. At the end of the day, some of the things you'll see just can't be rationalized. It's crazy out here, so I don't want you to falsely expect any one thing. I want you to be prepared for everything."

"I understand. Thank you." Judy replied in earnest.

"At the very least, if you don't know what to do, just listen to your Dominator. If it tells you to shoot, then shoot." Maurice simply gave her a weary smile before looking back forward towards Nick.

"Just shoot?"

Judy gazed down into her Dominator, and she saw the interface appear before her eyes. A thought crossed her mind, and she pointed it at Maurice's back. The Dominator began to speak, and Judy was thankful that only she could hear it. "Crime Coefficient is over 120. He is an Enforcer registered at the Zootopia Police Department. He is an Enforce at Will target. The safety will be released."

Judy lowered the Dominator and the gears began to turn inside her head. Judy wasn't sure how a latent criminal could act so kind and polite. She couldn't believe he took his job seriously and strived to complete the assignment. Despite his initial attitude, even Nick had shown to be determined and agreeable enough, going as far as to take the lead. Judy came to the realization that she had contributed nothing so far, and pondered why she was the one in control and they were the ones in collars.

"So what do you think happened to Lionheart, Inspector?" Maurice mused, filling the quiet hallway with some casual conversation. "My money is on money. He started losing too much of it. Maybe some deals he really needed didn't go through. It's a common source of stress in these CEO types."

"That's pretty insightful." Judy genuinely praised her Enforcer. "I spoke with Bogo before you guys arrived. I'm not sure if it was money, but something stressed him out in an incredibly short time frame."

"Stress is a great ingredient for more stress." Maurice replied. "I take it that the king couldn't bear to part with his kingdom?"

"That's actually exactly it. He tried to hush his therapist about the state of his Psycho-Pass. How did you figure that out, Mister Fournier?"

"The same way I knew you'd pull that Dominator out on me just to check. It's my job, or at least, it was my job back then, to read the thoughts of other mammals the best I can. Now it's more or less just a skill."

Judy tensed up upon hearing his admission. 'Did he really notice the Dominator scan?' Judy thought.

"I'm not offended or anything." Maurice laughed. "I know a prey Enforcer is a rare sight. But I proved capable and had enough time as an Inspector. I supposed they figured they were honoring me, which is fine by me since I wasn't through by a long shot. What I lack for in hunting skills I make up for in experience. But spend enough time thinking about criminals and it can weigh upon your mind. My Psycho-Pass clouded; I neglected my mental health in pursuit of doing my job. You see, Inspector, the mammal who commits the murder and the mammal who investigates the murder are of the same ilk. Be sure to remember that, and take care of yourself."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mister Fournier. And thanks for worrying about me, but I'll be fine. My Psycho-Pass, well...it never seems to cloud. I've always been that way. Always clear."

"Well, that's good to hear you have the fortitude. You'll need it."

"So, it was you who I ended up replacing, Mister Fournier?"

"Please, I'm just Maurice. And as a matter of fact-"

"Psst. I found our lion." cackled a voice in Judy's ear. She recognized it as Weaselton communicating over their channel. "I've got a clear shot. Let me put him down, Chief?"

"Negative. Wait for Honey and myself to meet you." Bogo's voice responded.

"You sure? This hostage gal is having a rough time. He aint exactly being gentle with her."

"Okay. Take the shot. Make it count." Bogo commanded.

Judy tensed up, waiting for the resolution of her first assignment. 'Maybe it's for the best that this assignment gets completed before I even get involved.' Judy thought.

"Say goodbye to the lion, everybody." whispered Weaselton. Judy could hear the shot sound out both in her receiver and somewhere distant in the building. She also heard a loud roar and some panicked noises from Weaselton.

"Wesselton! Report! What in the hell is going on?" Bogo shouted over the comms.

"The Eliminator shot didn't take! I'd add stimulants to part of this guys problem! Really good ones! No other way he'd still be standing! He hopped on a drone and took the girl with him!"

"He's aware of our presence now." Nick spoke into the comms channel. "You three keep in pursuit of him. We'll cut him off."

"And why are you so sure you know where he's going, Wilde?" shouted Bogo.

"This is his drone factory and he's got all the keys, all the codes. He'll feel safe among them, so he'll go to the armory where they're stored. He kept one on him, that's bad enough. We don't want him to stir up his army. Honey, make sure you bring the cart."

"Aye-aye, Nicky!" Honey cheerfully replied over the channel.

"We should be covering the entrance in case he escapes! Wilde, I don't know what kind of cute insubordination you think you're pulling, but I will not hesitate to shock you-"

"No!" Judy spoke up, surprised at her own outburst. Nick turned to look at her in shock. Staring into his eyes, she could see his ambition and intelligence. She knew that this fox had a plan, and it was making sense to her. "Inspector Bogo...I think it's a good plan. We should go along with it."

"If you're worried about the entrance, send somebody else there. I'll do it." Maurice offered in an attempt to placate the buffalo.

"I'm not trusting that job to a lone Enforcer." Bogo harshly retorted. "I'll cover it with Wesselton-"

"It's Weaselton! Duke Wea-"

"Hopps, you have fun leading around the hunters." Bogo spat.

With that cold remark there was radio silence.


	3. Monster Without a Name

The large room was empty, but Judy could sense the calm before the storm. The lighting was still dim, making Judy paranoid of what might be lurking in the darkness. Judy, Maurice, and Nick were all standing in front of a large, mechanical steel door. Beyond this door lies a lot of drones. If Lionheart is able to access the panel and get past this door, he wins. Of course, there's always the possibility that he runs to the entrance, but thankfully Bogo is guarding that. It would only make Nick look like a fool. Judy wondered why he was willing to take that gamble.

"Hey, Wilde." Judy asked nervously.

"Yeah, Carrots?" he replied, not taking his eyes off the corridor ahead of him.

Choosing to ignore the nickname, Judy continued. "What made you so sure that he'd come here?"

"The same reason he kept a drone with him in his office. The same reason he took a hostage, forced everyone else out, and holed himself up. The same reason his name is on this building. He's scared, and he's retreating into things that makes him feel safe. It would be truly crazy if he fled his own territory, away from his own weapons."

"Well, isn't that what he is? Crazy?" Judy pressed.

"Work this job long enough and you'll realize that crazy people aren't unpredictable at all. Most are just impulsive. Easy to predict. If they still seem a bit sane, then they'll think harder about how to outsmart you. And after taking a Paralyzer shot, there's no way he's thinking straight at all."

Judy looked to Maurice, who merely gave a sagelike nod. Without warning, Judy's ears perked up, hearing something skating their way. "He's coming." Judy warned the others.

Nick smirked. "Right on time."

Maurice braced himself. "An A+ to my star pupil." he said jokingly.

"You ready for the hard part, Teach?" Nick bantered back.

"Hell no. I'm getting old."

Judy braced herself as well, and adrenaline shot through her as she saw Lionheart round the corner. He did so on top of a drone, which looked like a big metal spider, but it only had 4 legs. The legs ended in plates that let the drone glide across the floor. In Lionheart's grip she could see the puma hostage, looking very worse for wear.

Lionheart stopped some distance away from them. He looked haggard, his mane going every which way in various clumps, and his pinstripe suit in tatters. Both he and the puma had visible scratches on their skin. She had clearly put up a fight, but came out the loser. She sported a black eye and a worrisome amount of blood on her body. Her clothes must have been torn off by Lionheart, as she was completely naked. She was actually clinging to Lionheart, visibly fearful of what would happen to her if she started struggling again.

"Out of my way!" Lionheart roared. "You shouldn't be here! I'm perfectly fine. The ZPD, and all the other ministries...you can't touch me. I'm Leodore Lionheart! I'll kill everyone before I let them put me in a cage!"

"Stall." Nick whispered to Judy.

Taking a moment to search for something to say, Judy called out to the distraught lion. "Mister Lionheart, please release your hostage. With that drone you are plenty capable of defending yourself from us. There's no need to involve an innocent mammal. You don't want to hurt her, do you?" With this, Judy could see the puma perk up and look towards her with pleading eyes. She looked so hurt and vulnerable, it gave Judy pains.

"No. I know that your weapons are capable of destroying this drone. She's protecting me. Put them down! All of you, put those fancy guns on the ground, and kick them over! Nice and slow, or I swear I'll gut her right here!"

Nick and Maurice immediately complied. With some hesitation, Judy followed their example. With a kick of her footpaw, the third Dominator was at the feet of Lionheart's drone.

Continuing to stall, Judy started again. "Now will you let her go?"

Having transferred the Dominators to his paws, Lionheart shifted the puma gently down to the floor. "I'll be coming back for her."

"But why?" Judy pleaded. "You have our weapons, you don't need her anymore."

"I do need her!" Lionheart roared back.

"Why?"

"I...I don't know. I have these...urges. I can't control. I stopped being able to control them earlier today. I thought I was just getting sick but...I realized something was wrong. I wanted to hurt others. To maim prey and battle other predators. I saw her and all I saw was a female that I wanted to make into my mate. The more I tried to hide it the harder it became...and no matter what I did I couldn't stop my Crime Coefficient from rising! What...happened to me."

The agents listened intently to what he had to say. Judy recognized a tonal shift. It sounded like he was struggling with getting the words out. Like he was confused and scared instead of the previous tones of aggression.

"We can help you, Mister Lionheart. Just please get off that-"

"No! You can't trick me!" Lionheart snarled down at Judy. "I'm going into my armory, and then nobody will be able to hurt me. I will slaughter every last one of you if you try to stop me-"

Judy cut her attention from the lion and instead listened to something down the corridor. She could hear something on wheels speeding towards them.

At this point Lionheart became paranoid of the approaching noise.

Suddenly, Honey rounded the corner on top of the metal ZPD supply cart. She was racing right towards Lionheart at incredible speeds, and let out what Judy could only describe as a warcry.

'This badger has no fear.' Judy thought.

Lionheart tried to move away, closer to the armory door, but Honey tracked him and slammed right into his drone, pinning it against the wall.

"Take that!" Honey shouted triumphantly. "Yo, Nick! Catch!"

Not wanting to be so close to the blast, Honey tossed her Dominator over to Nick with a wink. Nick jumped up and caught the gun in mid-air. He gave Honey a quick wink back, and Honey took this as a sign to abandon her cart for the sake of self-preservation.

"User authentication, Enforcer Nick Wilde." spoke the Dominator. "Crime coefficient is 272. He is a target for enforcement action. Enforcement mode: Lethal Eliminator. Please aim carefully and eliminate the target." The shape of the gun morphed to allow for a much larger barrel, signaling the increased power of Eliminator mode.

This left Lionheart with two choices: take a chance at moving the drone fast enough, or abandoning it. Luckily for him, he chose the safe option and rolled out of the way. A brilliant blue blast of energy fired forth from Nick's Dominator, piercing through the drone.

"Now you're unarmed." Nick called out to the lion threateningly.

Lionheart was dangerous without the drone, however. He attempted to bolt past Nick towards the injured puma that Judy had been attending to, but Nick cut him off. Lionheart roared down at Nick, and despite the size difference, Nick stood his ground, growled back, and kept the Dominator pointed at Lionheart.

Despite his frenzied state, Lionheart backed down, knowing the Dominator would spell his end if he attacked. Instead, he turned tail and ran away on all fours. Judy saw Nick furiously chase after the lion with a crazed look of his own in his eyes and a vicious snarl on his muzzle. She sat there, still shielding the puma from the threat that had already fled, amazed at Nick.

'This fox is out for blood.' Judy thought.

Nick chased Lionheart, forcing the larger mammal to take a left towards the corridor. Honey blocked his path, her devil-may-care expression plastered on her face having reclaimed Nick's Dominator that Lionheart had dropped.

Lionheart made another panicked turn, only to come face-to-face with Maurice holding his own Dominator. He was not backing down either, an expression of pure resolve on his face.

Lionheart slowly turned back to Nick, staring into the fox's glare. For a crazed predator, Judy couldn't help but feel that he looked so pathetic and utterly defeated.

He let out one last, desperate roar.

"Enforcement mode: Lethal Eliminator. Please aim carefully and eliminate the target."

Lionheart reached into his pocket, grabbing hold of an old fragmentation grenade.

"My deepest sympathies." Nick told Lionheart earnestly.

Nick's Dominator let out an incredible blast once again. It struck Lionheart directly in the chest before he could do anything else with the grenade. What happened next was incredibly fast, but Judy saw it in slow motion. Lionheart's entire torso seemed to balloon outwards. It spread a bit to his arms, but mainly stayed confined to his chest. He expanded outwards, and she saw his flesh turn from being covered in fur to a texture akin to raw flesh and blood. The scream he let out was one of pure agony. And just like that, he exploded. Chunks of the lion flew every which way, and a rain of blood splattered the vicinity around him. A little of it even landed on Judy, despite sitting far away.

The spacious room was dead silent. The puma suddenly let out a scream at the gruesome display and began to stir, a bit more active now that her tormentor was in pieces. Her breathing was rapid and shallow.

"You're okay now, miss." Judy gently spoke to her, holding her much larger paw in her own. "We're the ZPD, we'll take care of you."

The puma actually quieted down and gave Judy a warm, albeit nervous, smile, and Judy smiled back. It was good to know that Judy was able to make the world a better place today. At the very least, she made this puma's world a better place. Protecting mammals like her is why Judy wanted this job.

Suddenly the puma screamed once more, and began backing up, scooting back across the floor.

"Honey?" Judy asked, in shock as to why the badger was pointing a gun past her and directly at the scared puma.

"Check her on your Dominator." was the badger's solemn reply.

Judy did just that, and hesitantly pointed the Dominator at the frightened woman. "Crime Coefficient is over 160. She is a target for enforcement action." Her Dominator told her, confirming the worst.

"No...no...please..." Was all the shell shocked puma could manage to mutter.

"No! She's the victim here! She needs to be taken into protective custody!" Judy shouted.

"Yeah, that's why we have the Paralyzer mode." Honey bluntly replied, taking careful aim.

"Let her do it, Judy." Maurice warned.

Judy jumped forwards and tackled the badger. She was incapable of knocking the stout mammal over, but managed to stop her from firing. From behind Judy, the puma scrambled up and began to haphazardly sprint past Lionheart's remains and down the corridor. "We can't just use violence against her! She's already been through so much! She's scared!"

Honey struggled to get the bunny off of her. "Hey, she's getting away! I know you're the Inspector here, aren't you supposed to obey Sibyl? The Dominator said she needed enforcement. Why are you doing this?"

Judy backed away from Honey. "I don't care. We're going to go find her, and help her because it's the right thing to do!" Judy scanned the room. "Where is Nick?"

Maurice nodded down the corridor. "Already tracking her."

Sirens went off in Judy's head. She set off in a full sprint after the puma, and after her Enforcer. Honey stomped her foot angrily, muttering something about a bunny thinking she's above the system. Maurice looked towards Honey with a shrug, at a loss for words from the sudden initiative that Judy had shown.


	4. Justice

They didn't get very far. When Judy had caught up, she saw Nick cornering the puma in the women's restroom. She must have thought she could hide in there. Nick was in the doorway, and the puma was sitting down against the far wall. In her hands she cradled the fragmentation grenade that Lionheart had left behind.

Instinctively at this point, Judy scanned the puma with her Dominator. "Crime coefficient is 261. She is a target for enforcement action. Enforcement mode: Lethal Eliminator. Please aim carefully and eliminate the target." It read out loud.

Judy felt her blood run cold. "Psycho-Hazard." Judy muttered.

Nick nodded, his own Dominator pointed at her. "Lionheart rattled her so much that she was already set for enforcement. You stopping Honey from doing her job only escalated things, and now Sibyl sees her as a killer."

"I-I am a killer! I'll kill you both and myself if you don't just step away!" The puma screamed, apparently having found her voice. Live explosives do wonders for your confidence.

"I didn't-I just wanted to help her-" Judy stammered, realizing the gravity of her actions.

Nick looked back at Judy with regret in his eyes. "Sorry, Carrots." he told her before turning back to the puma and took aim.

Time seemed to stop for Judy, as she was about to see an innocent civilian killed before her own eyes.

"Don't!" Judy shouted at the top of her lungs, taking aim at Nick's back. With the pull of a trigger Judy shattered the scene that was frozen in front of her. Her Dominator flashed and forcefully shot a small blue projectile straight into Nick's unsuspecting back.

With a sudden yip from Nick, he fell down to the floor, completely unconscious from the Paralyzer shot.

The puma watched in awe as one agent just attacked another.

Judy, without even thinking, let her Dominator clatter to the floor. She then began to slowly approach the puma.

"L-listen, you crazy bunny. I'm not letting you- stay away!" The puma threatened, flourishing the grenade in front of Judy.

"What is your name?"

"...Sarah."

"Sarah. You don't want this. You have a life worth living."

"I have this shitty job. And my boss decided to ruin me forever, body and mind. I'm tainted because of him now!"

"I believe in you, Sarah. Mammals recover from stressful incidents like this all the time. You were perfectly healthy before this and you're going to recover just fine. This is just one awful night in your life. Don't throw away your future because of it, please."

"W-what do you care? You're too scared to come near the big, ferocious pred. Don't act like you don't look down on me. You think I'm a monster...and at this point you're probably right!"

"I'm scared of that grenade. I think I'm just scared in general. This is actually my first assignment with the ZPD. I'm scared too, Sarah. Tonight was terrifying." Judy stepped even closer to Sarah, now only a few feet away. "But we're going to get through this together, okay?" Judy moved forward and was now on top of Sarah. She threw her arms around her neck. "I promise I'll protect you."

Sarah's eyes welled up with tears. She let her paw fall to the ground, and the grenade rolled out of it onto the tile floor, making a clattering noise. She held onto the bunny with her large paws, overwhelming her with their size. For a long time Sarah stayed like that, sobbing endlessly into Judy's shoulder.

"Thank you." Sarah croaked.

Judy stepped back away from Sarah, and stretched a paw out towards her. "Now let's get you out of here."

Judy froze as she heard a shot buzz past her and hit Sarah square in the chest. Sarah let out a pained meowing sound but quickly slumped over where she was sitting. Judy spun around to see Inspector Bogo in the doorway, Dominator still poised, with the rest of the Enforcers behind him. Duke looked miserable. Honey looked cheerful but confused, like she was trying really hard to stay positive. Maurice looked even more tired, if that were possible.

Bogo had his typical scowl on. "Not the most graceful job, Hopps. Not by a long shot."


	5. Repose

The very next day, Judy wasn't quite sure if that night was a dream, or more aptly, a nightmare. It all happened so fast, and the amount of adrenaline that pumped through her left her feeling drained. She couldn't eat anything, and only had the energy to wash the blood off of her and lie down in bed. Her body had begged for rest but her brain was still racing; the discontinuity kept Judy up nearly all night. She arrived at the ZPD headquarters in her uniform the next day, praying for a day to rest and square away everything that happened last night.

One thing in particular had weighed on her conscience the most, so she knew where her first stop would be.

After asking for directions, she was directed to the room of Benjamin Clawhauser. The portly cheetah sat in his swivel chair, eyes scanning multiple monitors and a donut firmly in his paw. There were two couches and a coffee table in the middle of the room, but apparently the sole purpose of this room was Clawhauser's command center. He took a large bite of the donut before realizing that he had company, and swiveled around to face Judy.

"Mmf. Jusk a shekind..." he greeted Judy cheerily with a mouth full of pastry. Judy could only smile awkwardly, waiting for him to finish. "Okay, hi! I'm Benjamin Clawhauser. And it's very obvious who you are. Wow, you bunnies always surprise me with how cute you are!" He sang to Judy.

"Yeah, I'm Inspector Judy Hopps. It's nice to meet you. And please don't call me cute. It's kind of a...bunny thing." Judy trailed off in a morose tone.

"Oh, so sorry! I didn't know, honest, not many bunnies here, but you know more about that than I do. You're the one who shot Nick, aren't you? That's hilarious! Keeping a short leash on your Enforcers, eh?"

"It's not like that..." Judy replied, indignation clear in her voice.

"Oh. Hm." This brought pause to the cheetah. Clawhauser pondered this out loud, eyeing the bunny like she was something entirely foreign to him. "Well, I actually just checked on him not long ago. You nailed him right in the spine with that Paralyzer, but even then, it's nothing new. Those shots act as advertised; it'll put any mammal out of commission for a bit. He's resting right now, so I'd advise against any visits, if that's what you're after. But you can try if you want to, you're the Inspector."

"Oh, no. I'll let him rest. I'll leave you be." Judy turned away.

"Hey!" Clawhauser called after her. Judy turned slowly to face him once again. "You okay?"

Now it was Judy's turn to pause. "Yeah...It's weird being asked that, actually. Last night was so tense and...I think I forgot how to take care of myself. My mind is all over the place. I shouldn't expect Bogo or any of my Enforcers to do everything for me though."

A loud grumble came from Judy's stomach, and she flushed in embarrassment.

Clawhauser let out a merry laugh. "Well, I'm technically your Enforcer too. I'm a lot of Inspectors' Enforcer. The drone factory was a military sector, so there was too much red tape to ask for my help last night. Plus, it sounded like a pretty clear-cut mission, not much need for my support. But you'll use me eventually if you ever get in a jam that requires any remote accessing. And, as you can see, I'll also be the one to patch up anybody who gets hurt. I mean, I may have a physician's license, but with everything else I'm tasked with it can get really stressful here at times. I'm a latent criminal, but that doesn't mean they can slave drive me!"

Judy let the cheetah ramble on, sleepily nodding at what he had to say. Towards the end of his musings, he reached into his donut box and offered a pink donut with sprinkles to Judy. Judy stared blankly at the pastry.

"I'm never there in person, so forgive me if I'm stepping out of line but...even I realize it can be brutal on assignments. Last night sounded rough, not to mention a rude welcome for a new Inspector. But here at HQ, you can rest easy. And if you want, I'm always here if you need somebody to talk to." Clawhauser told her in a soothing voice.

Judy gingerly took the donut in her paw, and thanked the cheetah for the breakfast.

"And I'll always be here for donuts, too! Take care of yourself, Miss Hopps."

Judy decided to sit down on the couch and eat her donut, wanting to enjoy some pleasant conversation a little longer. "Are you a therapist too? Because I'm actually starting to feel better." Judy said with appreciation, a warm smile on her face.

"Not licensed for that, but I like to think I know a thing or to."

"Sounds like you're qualified for just about everything else!" Judy offered this genuine praise.

Clawhauser gave an exasperated laugh. "Yeah, a blessing and a curse. Don't get me wrong, this job is way better than any alternatives, but you can tell that high-functioning latent criminals with my level of education are in short supply. Hence why I'm two parts techie and one part doctor around here."

Judy and Clawhauser chatted for a little longer about whatever crossed their minds. Judy was happy to meet somebody else who appreciated the musical talents of Gazelle, although Clawhauser definitely outdid her in his levels of devotion. Eventually, it came time to clock in, and she had to report to Bogo.

"Thank you again for everything, Mister Clawhauser."

"Just Ben or Clawhauser is fine by me, Inspector. And if you want, I can give you a call when Nick is up and ready for visitors." the cheetah informed her with a mischievous wink.

"That'd be nice, but, what was that for?" Judy asked, a bit nervous.

"I can tell you care, Inspector. Enough to come visit Nick. That can either get you very far or in a lot of trouble in this job." Judy couldn't help but think of Maurice's gradual degradation into an Enforcer. "But, I can also tell you that your Enforcers will respect you for it." Clawhauser finished with a little salute. "Oh, and if you do go far here, I'm begging you for a hot tub in the lounge! Climb that ladder and help us little guys out, Hopps!" He joked.

This actually forced a laugh out of Judy. "Thank you, Ben. I'll keep in touch."


	6. The Path of The Fool

As she walked into her office room, Judy noticed Bogo was already awaiting her with a glare from his own desk. Judy hopped up onto her own chair, realizing that they overestimated how big she would be. 'I'll just deal with it for now.' Judy thought. She didn't want to be making a fuss with her fellow Inspector.

"You're late, Inspector." Bogo muttered.

"Sorry, I lost track of time. I'm still getting around the building, and I wanted to make sure Wilde was alright." Judy offered a sincere apology.

This brought a look of scorn upon Bogo's countenance upon hearing the Enforcer's name, but then his look quickly shifted back to indifference. "Don't forget about your report of last night's case."

Judy surveyed the room. At the front of the room, on either side, were Judy's and Bogo's desks. The rest of the room contained four desks of the Enforcers. Maurice Fournier's empty desk was directly in front of Bogo's, and next to the moose sat Duke Weaselton, currently leaning back in his chair, looking through a questionable magazine with a his default grin on his face. In line with Judy's desk sat the vacant desk of Nick Wilde, and next to his desk was Honey's, who was currently painting her claws.

"Good morning, you two." Judy offered hesitantly.

"Good morning, Inspector Hopps!" Honey boisterously saluted.

To his credit, Duke gave her quick greeting before burying his nose back in his 'reading'.

Judy glanced over at Bogo, who was looking scornfully at her once again. Judy was starting to understand his position.

"Inspector Hopps. Come with me out into the hall." Bogo gruffly ordered.

Judy slunk out of her seat, and followed her fellow Inspector out of the office.

Once the door was closed, Bogo began. "Inspector. Do you see yourself as a colleague to the Enforcers, or as their handler?"

Judy forced herself to bite her tongue, having known that this was coming.

Bogo pressed on. "You seemed awfully quick to side with Wilde last night."

"Do you have a problem with foxes, sir?" Judy testily replied. This made the buffalo quirk an eyebrow in surprise. "Or predators in general? What about bunnies?"

"Listen, you little upstart; I have no problem with them until they become my problem. I have a job to do, and it is to uphold this society based on Sibyl's judgment. I doubted your capabilities; a rabbit in this job has been unheard of. But if Sibyl allowed it to happen, I was willing to give you a chance. What I won't excuse, however, is how quickly you sided with Enforcers Wilde and Fournier last night. They rely too much on intuition, and go against regulations! Their plan was risky. The are latent criminals and they will put you and themselves in danger."

"But if we did it your way, who knows what could have happened to the hostage! They acted with her well-being in mind, so of course I agreed. Their plan made sense to me, they correctly predicted what Lionheart would do. Your plan was downright inaction!" Judy fought back with passion against the mammal many times her size.

Bogo continued leering down at her. "They are hunters. Nothing more. You would be wise to remember that they exist beneath you. They act on behalf of us Inspectors. You don't need to start thinking like them or even work with them. Simply control them."

Judy hesitated, but steeled her resolve, remembering her mental clarity. "With all due respect, sir, I can take care of myself, I don't need you looming over me, especially since we are of equal rank. I know that thinking like a criminal can cloud one's Psycho-Pass, but mine doesn't get clouded. Never has. So please, allow me to deal with the Enforcers in my own way."

Bogo knelt down so he was closer to eye level with Judy. "Two of them I know for a fact can't be trusted, and the other two I'd wager are the same. Heed these words, and don't repeat my mistakes, Hopps: they say that fools learn from experience, while the wise learn from history. You're ignoring my history lesson and have set down the path of the fool."

Bogo turned and began to walk away. Judy didn't care how he would react to what came out of her mouth next.

"Wilde and Fournier. Those are the two that you said you knew for certain couldn't be trusted. Right? What happened between you and them?"

Bogo slowly turned back to Judy. If looks could kill Judy would equate his gaze to an Eliminator blast. Before this, Judy could have sworn she had seen the worst of his glares, but this was something entirely new. Judy genuinely felt the daggers prick her skin, but she held her ground and stared back at him evenly. His gaze shifted away from Judy and down the hallway for a split second.

Clearly not wanting to continue, Bogo stomped back into the office.

A whistle sounded from behind Judy. "Wow, that was one hell of a conversation to catch the tail-end of."

Judy recognized the voice as Fournier's. "Mr. Fournier?" she asked in a bit of panic, turning around to face the moose.

"I figured you two wouldn't mesh well. Try not to hold it against him, though. He's a really good guy, but he seems to have bad luck with partners."

"He doesn't like the way you think, does he?" Judy asked.

"Not one bit. My descent into being a latent criminal robbed him of a partner. We were Inspectors for a good long while. I was his senior officer, and we got along well. I'd like to think we did, at least. I helped him get acquainted with the job, but he grew into his own type of Inspector." Maurice let out a soft chuckle. "Maybe a better one than I ever was, considering I lost that title."

"So, he hates you for your choices? That's a bit unfair. It's not like you ever intentionally did wrong by him."

"I put myself at odds with Sibyl. That's pretty wrong by him. And I'm not sure if you can tell, but he never had much love for preds. So he wasn't happy to see his friend and mentor become an Enforcer amongst them."

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, what do you think about being an Enforcer?"

"Well I don't share their taste in Bug Burga." Maurice offered jokingly. Seeing Judy crack a bit of a smirk, he decided to continue. "I don't mind it, I guess. I come from a time before Sibyl, Inspector. I know it might sound strange to someone as young as yourself, but back then my way of thinking was the way of thinking. Detective work was how crime was handled before technology offered it's aid. So, in a way, I guess I appreciate my job as Enforcer for letting me handle cases in the old way. My way."

"Well, that's good to hear. And thank you for all of your guidance last night. And I'm also sorry if I'm causing a strain in the group. I didn't know being your replacement would irritate Bogo so much."

Maurice perked up, eyes widening. "Oh, that's right. I never got the chance to correct you last night. You didn't replace me, I was an Enforcer long before you even graduated. You replaced Wilde."


	7. Oh, Sugar Sugar

Judy sat at her desk in a bit of a stupor. A fox Inspector? She had never heard of a predator holding such a position. There had been predators, like Lionheart, as high ranking members of various jobs throughout all the ministries. But the ZPD? Entrusting a predator with the power of an Inspector? The thought baffled Judy.

Judy had thought it was clear-cut. Inspectors were prey, usually large ones with Judy being the outlier, and Enforcers were predators. Just another surprise from that enigmatic fox. And here she thought he was just some jackass who happened to be really good at his job. Instead, he was the one who broke the mold before she did.

Bogo stomped out of the room for what must have been his lunch break. Luckily for Judy, today had been as slow as she hoped, not counting her squabble with her fellow Inspector. She wondered if Nick being injured put their team on some kind of low priority. Or perhaps it was just a calm day of no crimes. Thanks to Sibyl, crime had reduced so dramatically. Under Sibyl's watchful guide, mammals lived happy, productive lives. Zootopia was a wonderful paradise...at least Judy thought. Now her job was to deal with what fell through the cracks in Sibyl's design. Last night was truly eye-opening, and it filled the small bunny with doubts.

Sarah the puma kept appearing in Judy's head. 'How could she be a target for Elimination?' Judy thought. That poor woman was a victim in every sense of the word. She didn't deserve what Lionheart did to her, let alone punishment for her latent criminality.

"Psst!" Judy heard from somewhere in the office. She looked up from the blank computer screen that reflected her blank mind, incapable of producing a coherent report of the case last night. Honey was motioning her over. At some point, they had become the only two mammals in the office.

Judy plopped down off her chair and made her way over to the badger. "Is there something you need, Hon-"

"Shh, put this on first." Honey quickly threw what appeared to be a necklace around Judy's neck.

"Oh uhm, thank you-" Judy froze up. "Honey."

"Yes, Inspector?"

"Is this necklace made of fur?"

"Yeah, it's Nick's shed fur. He gives it to me."

"Why?"

"Well, all I have to do is ask nicely!"

"No, I mean, why would you make this?"

Honey, wearing her own fox fur necklace, scanned the room to make sure they were alone. "Orange repels the sheep mind rays. Foxes repel them too, so Nick is a double whammy! I know he's always safe from the sheep."

Judy was now completely at a loss for words.

Honey decided to continue. "Sheep have ruled this city for a long time. Long before Sibyl. But Sibyl was their goal from the very start! Now they have absolute power. They control Sibyl and shape society to how they see fit! They decide who works which jobs and who isn't fit enough to keep their freedoms. You're a smart bunny, I can tell. Like, really smart; you might even be able to perceive the things I do! Surely you realize that this is a sheep's world, don't you? That's why you did what you did last night."

"You mean with Sarah?" Judy asked, still a bit unsure what this badger was even talking about.

"Yeah! Not even I would have done what you did, trying to talk her down with that grenade, and I'm a badger! You have guts, Inspector! Even more gutsy was how you defied Sibyl. You fought the system in a way I wouldn't have thought of doing. It honestly confused me at first when you tackled me; I didn't imagine someone would intervene like that. I am honored and humbled to be your Enforcer. I will die for you."

With that heavy statement, Honey gave a dignified bow towards Judy. Judy blushed at the sudden praise, but was still a bit confused. "Wait, wait. I'm not against Sibyl, and you're not either if you willingly chose to work as an Enforcer."

With that, Honey grimaced. "You don't understand. Just because I wield the Dominator doesn't mean I side with Sibyl. I'm just making sure I'm never on the barrel end of the gun, you know? I'm an Enforcer because it gives me power. I won't ever feel the way I did back then again." Honey trailed off wistfully.

Judy put her paw over Honey's. "What do you mean by 'back then'?"

Honey bit her lip before deciding to confide in the bunny in front of her. "I was alone. Living in my bunker, living out every day in fear of what I couldn't prove. Nobody believed me, but my thoughts continued to torment me. I couldn't remember my past; for as long as I remembered, I was a vagrant. Then, one day, Bogo and Nick had a case in the area I lived in. I ended up helping them track down the crime that was happening. It was some gang activity, and I just didn't want my innocent neighbors getting hurt. That's why I helped them. I guess I proved to be capable and trustworthy to them. I was afraid they would turn me in to some treatment facility; after all, living the way I did, it brought out a lot of latent criminal tendencies. I never hurt anyone, but my Psycho-Pass got really cloudy regardless."

Judy sat there, absorbing her story. She gave Honey a subtle nod, wanting her to continue.

"But Nick offered me the Enforcer job. You already know my reasons for taking the job, but let me just stress how that was the best thing that ever happened to me. Nick saw something in me. I can trust him with my life, and not just because he's safe from mind control. He's...my first friend. So, I guess this job is more than just being able to have power. It's also about belonging somewhere."

Judy hesitated before asking the question that had been gnawing at her brain. "Speaking of Nick, was he really going to kill Sarah? I just can't accept that. That's what has me feeling so weird. I feel at odds with Sibyl. At odds with Nick."

Honey frowned. "Inspector, you don't understand. We Enforcers don't have the luxury of doing what you did. We aren't the ones calling the shots. Every single one of us has killed mammals before, under Sibyl's and Bogo's orders. Mammals who were just scared and didn't deserve to die. Mammals like Sarah. Mammals I would have liked to try and talk down. In reality, I'd probably just let Nick talk them down. He's better with words. Actually, when he was an Inspector, he always tried to do that- he did what you did pretty often. Doesn't mean the mammal would always listen, but he tried his best."

Judy drank this in. She seemed to be wrong about Nick once again. At least, he used to be different. But last night, the fox seemed nothing like her at all. He was cold and calculating. He was a killer. However, Judy could tell that Honey was telling the truth about Nick. How she really felt about him as an Enforcer and as a friend. "You guys are close, aren't you?" Judy asked.

"Us Enforcers really only have each other, and Nick is important to me. Maurice too. Even Duke!"

Judy looked over to Bogo's empty desk, and then into Honey's eyes. She didn't see deception. She was a bit unstable, sure, but Judy could tell that Honey meant well. Plus, she did just pledge her life to Judy, so she figured she could trust her. "You have me too, Honey. Thank you for being so nice to me and telling me your story."

Honey beamed and stood up, lifting Judy off the ground and into a crushing hug. "Thank you so much, Inspector Hopps! I'll follow you into Hell!"

Judy wheezed, experiencing the strength of an excited badger. "How about you just show me the way to the cafeteria instead?" Judy managed to croak out.


	8. A Cornered Rat

Judy pecked at her salad with disinterest. It was incredibly late and she was trying her best to force herself to eat something while she was confined here for the day, and the donut from earlier wasn't exactly healthy. The sliced carrots and croutons in the sea of leafy greens all seemed to blur into a big mess as she lost her focus.

Her daze was broken when she saw a familiar weasel plop down at the seat across from her at the cafeteria table. His tray had a Bug Burga burger and fries on it, along with a chocolate shake.

"Mind if I sit here, my lady?" Duke asked in his greasy way, his voice oozing sarcasm.

Closing her eyes, Judy let out a quick reply in the affirmative. She didn't want to give him anything to work with.

"Sweet. You're already miles ahead of Buffalo Butt, Thumper. You don't mispronounce my name, you let me eat with you, and you're a huge pain in Bogo's ass!"

"Don't count on it, Wesselton." Judy smirked.

"That was for 'Thumper', wasn't it?"

Judy just scowled and nodded. "Do you go out of your way to be rude?"

Duke looked like he was about to retort but then clamped his mouth shut. A long silence hung between them, the only sounds coming from their chewing.

"I'm sorry. I really did get off on the wrong paw with you."

"Well, apology accepted." Judy gave the friendliest smile she could muster to show that she appreciated his maturity.

There was another lull in the conversation before Judy spoke up. "Aren't you supposed to be off duty?"

Duke had to stifle his laughter to prevent himself from choking on the mouthful of burger he was eating. Upon swallowing, he adopted an amused tone. "Wait, you don't know? Us Enforcers are prisoners here. The only times we're allowed to leave this building are for assignments. We can go to our rooms, our workplace floors, the cafeteria, the gym, and a few other places. Restricted access and curfews."

"Oh, I didn't know." Judy responded almost apologetically. It appeared there was plenty she didn't know about the Enforcers.

"So, tell me about yourself, Hopps. Because in the least offensive way I can ask this, I wanna know what made a bunny want to take such a dangerous job." Duke asked.

"You don't think I'm up to the task, do you?" Judy solemnly replied.

Duke shrugged. "Hard to say. I can't talk much. I'm about your size and I seem to manage, so who's to say a bunny can't? You might surprise me. Plus, it was your first night; I know that Wilde and Fournier did most of the work for you. So I don't have too much to judge you on."

Judy could tell he was trying to be polite. "Well, if you really want to know my reason, it's that I want to help other mammals. Make the world a better place, you know?"

"That it?" Duke asked, clearly not buying it. "There are plenty of jobs out there where you can feel good about helping others without having lions trying to maul you."

"Well," Judy continued, "I guess there is another reason. Sibyl's judgment of my job aptitude exceeded the ZPD's employment standards to become an Inspector."

"Yeah," Duke cut in, "that's the confusing part. Aren't the standards for an Inspector insanely high? Didn't you have other options?"

"I got an A ranking for all thirteen ministries and agencies, as well as 6 companies. But I've always wanted to fight crime since I was a child. It was my dream job. Also, I was the only one in my class of over 600 mammals to get an A ranking for the ZPD. I guess the idea of being the first bunny Inspector was appealing too. I suppose I had a lot of reasons. After last night though, I'm beginning to wonder if I was wrong. I...Duke?"

The weasel had begun laughing upon hearing her second guess herself. His laughter quickly turned into a sneer. "You know what, I tried being nice, but I think we're never gonna see eye-to-eye, Inspector."

"What do you mean?" Judy glared back at him, already mourning the brief period of mutual politeness the two of them shared.

"You had all these reasons for wanting this job, and all of those other choices available to you, and now you're ready to back out on your second day? I think Sybil should check your test scores again, because you're pretty damn stupid."

"Excuse me-" Judy began before being cut off.

"You wanna know why I became an Enforcer, Hopps? I had two good years of getting beat up for being a weasel in grade school. By the time I was seven years old, I was taken out of school, because I was flagged in a Psycho-Pass scan as a latent criminal. Seven! What crime was I gonna commit, grand theft tricycle?"

Judy wanted to tell Duke to fuck off, but she felt like there was a point coming. She also realized she had never seen the weasel this passionate about anything before.

"So excuse me if I don't feel sorry for you because you're coming to grips with the difficulties of your job. You are a cuddly and cute bunny, probably came from a big loving family, am I right? Nobody has ever backed away from you like you were dangerous, right?"

Judy just sat in silence.

"Me? I've always been the greasy, slippery, disgusting weasel. I never had as much as you did, and by the time I was seven I lost what little I had. They couldn't rehabilitate me through treatment. The one stroke of luck I ever had in my life was the ZPD handing me a gun and telling me to go kill people like the predator I am! That's the only reason I chose to become an Enforcer," Duke motioned to the empty cafeteria around them, "I wanted a gilded cage instead of a shitty one. You should be thankful you had that many choices, on top of being able to have your dream job. I don't think I ever even had a dream job. The only choice I ever had was be an Enforcer or live in an isolation facility."

Duke grabbed his tray and stood up to walk away. He only made it a few steps before stopping himself and letting out a large sigh.

"But...for what it's worth I don't want you to quit. In fact, I'm begging you to stay."

Judy's ears perked up upon hearing his complete change of tone. "Why?" she asked incredulously.

"I heard what you did. With that puma girl. You have my respect for that, Inspector. I don't know many Inspectors who would take that kind of risk. I also don't know many prey who would see a pred for what they really are in situations like that. Situations where they're cornered and don't have many options."

"What they really are?" Judy mimicked, wanting to know what he meant by this.

Duke looked over his shoulder and into Judy's eyes. Judy could sense something fragile from the weasel just by staring into his eye.

"Scared." he stated solemnly.


	9. Wilde Hearts

Shortly after Duke's departure, Judy had received the long-awaited call from Clawhauser. It was time to visit Nick.

Judy stood close to the wall, off to the side of his bed. There was a low humming sound coming from the air conditioner unit in the room. The air smelled of cleaning supplies, and the light bouncing off all of the white surfaces irritated her eyes.

Judy was staring at Nick, and he was staring back. She had thought about this moment all day, but now that she was here she couldn't think of anything to say.

Eventually, the quiet tension between them forced the first thing Judy could think of out of her mouth. "I'm sorry."

Nick gave her a grin. "Wow, Carrots. It's rare to see an Inspector who would apologize to an Enforcer."

"I wouldn't blame you for being mad at me. You were right: I caused the situation to escalate. I shouldn't have stopped Honey. It didn't change anything. Sarah still had to be Paralyzed in the end, but I also nearly drove her to hurting herself and others. Not to mention having to Paralyze you. I was stupid and impulsive, and I ended up hurting you." Judy spoke with humility in her voice, looking towards the ground.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Fluff. You're the Inspector here, so I have no right to complain." Nick replied, waving off her apologies.

"But you were an Inspector once." Judy spoke with a fighting spirit. "It surprised me to hear it. And even if you never were an Inspector, I feel like Enforcers have a lot to offer. I'm not above admitting my shortcomings. Just because I'm an Inspector doesn't absolve me of my bad decisions. I made a mistake. It's my mistake, so don't take it away from me."

Nick went a bit wide-eyed upon hearing this, and gave a genuine smile. "Definitely don't hear any Inspectors say any of that. Don't let Buffalo Butt hear you talking like that."

Judy fiddled with her paws. "Inspector Bogo and I have already voiced our disagreements with one another."

"That's very big of you to take responsibility. You know that I was an Inspector, so I know that it's a heavy burden, bearing that title."

"I didn't know predators were allowed to be Inspectors."

Nick huffed. "Guess they figured to use me as a test run. Didn't want to use a larger pred, figured a fox would be a safe bet. Maybe being a shifty fox helped me out during my time as Inspector."

Judy put a paw over Nick's paw, making herself nervous with the physical contact. Nick looked at her quizzically. Before she had to constantly tell herself not to view predators any differently than she would view prey. For some reason, some gut feeling, she didn't feel the need to do that with Nick anymore. She realized that there was so much common ground between the two of them. "Don't call yourself shifty. I'd say...'clever' is a better word for your performance last night." Judy gently told him with a smirk.

Nick smirked back. "How about sly?"

Judy let out a chuckle. "Can you tell me what it was like? Being the first Inspector of your species?"

"I can see why you want to know, First Bunny. Well, long story short it was a lot of trouble. Bogo wasn't thrilled to be working alongside a fox. I dealt with that a lot; everyone doubted me. As a result, I ended up getting along better with the Enforcers. Maurice taught me a lot about thinking like a detective. I was the one who recruited Honey, and she's always fun to be around. Ben's easy to talk to, or at least, listen to." Nick trailed off, most likely figuring that Judy got the idea.

Judy nodded along, listening to Nick talk.

"That all changed, though. I don't have the responsibility of being an Inspector anymore. I stopped acting like you." Nick went on, causing Judy to look at him in concern. "At first I thought I wanted to be an Inspector, upholding the laws of the system. Then I thought I wanted to be a detective, adding my own insights into the investigations. Now I'm neither of those things. I'm just a hunter."

"Is that how you see yourself? Is that what being an Enforcer is to you?" Judy asked him gently.

"Well, did you see me as an agent? As a detective? Tell me the truth, Inspector. What did you think of me before I killed Lionheart? What did I look like?"

Judy hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed having been asked this question. She knew exactly what she thought of Nick, having seen him in action. She thought about it often: the way he growled, the way he bared his teeth, the way he slowly prowled before breaking into a sprint. That look of bloodlust in his eyes was still clear in her memory. Just thinking about him felt like a hazard to her Psycho-Pass, as if it were taboo. It wasn't going to sound like a polite thing to say out loud, but she knew it was what Nick wanted to hear.

"You looked like a predator cornering his prey." Judy spoke softly.

Nick shifted his head to the side, looking at the sparse decorations of the room. He looked slightly pained by her words, but accepting of them nonetheless. "I just follow orders. I've been an Enforcer for a while now, and that is the best way to handle assignments. The other Enforcers will tell you the same thing: don't hesitate and don't doubt yourself. I am an extension of my Dominator, and I am controlled by my Inspector's will. I stopped questioning what was asked of me, and just kept telling myself it was for the better of society. Me and the other Enforcers have killed many latent criminals under this convenient logic."

Nick took a deep breath before speaking again. He made sure to look at Judy. Judy felt as if she was being challenged by him once again. "We Enforcers are told that we are killers. At some point I accepted that as truth. If that's how the system sees me, then there's no point trying to fight against it. I thought I couldn't be anything else. But you, Judy, you made me realize how foolish that was."

"Because you used to be like me?" Judy asked, jumping onto his train of thought.

Nick nodded. "Yeah. I tried doing the right thing as an Inspector. But when I became an Enforcer, I lost all motivation because I have less agency in this position. Seeing you reminded me what this job is really about, though. It's about protecting mammals, and that's exactly what you did. You made your own decisions, using your own moral compass. You value justice." Nick gave a light squeeze of her paw. "As long as I have an Inspector as good as you, I feel like I can start making a difference again, instead of just being a hunter."

Judy began crying upon hearing Nick's heartfelt praise. It was nice to hear that he believed in her abilities as an Inspector, but what was even more touching was knowing that she inspired him to better himself. "Nick...thank you..."

Nick smirked at her. "Are all bunnies this emotional?"

Judy wiped her nose and gave Nick a playful thump on the shoulder. "So you wanted to help Sarah too? Would you have thought of a way to not kill her?"

Nick frowned. "I'm not sure."

Judy looked at him with concern and confusion.

"All I could think of was how I didn't want to die there." Nick continued. "I couldn't die there. That single thought consumed me. I know it sounds selfish, but I just can't help it. I have unfinished business; there is somebody that I owe." Nick stated with a note of finality.

"I understand." Judy lied. She didn't know what caused Nick to feel this way. All she knew was that the determination with which Nick spoke was frightening.

"Luckily, I have somebody as crazy as you to do that for me." Nick grinned. "I still can't believe you shot me, and I still can't believe you calmed that girl down. A bunny not backing away from a puma. You're something else, Carrots."

Judy gave an earnest laugh. She held out her paw for Nick to shake. "Well, Slick Nick, I hope I can be the Inspector that you can stand behind proudly. Let's promise...to make the world a better place, Nick."

Nick flattened his ears, gave her a warm smile, and shook her paw. "With an Inspector like you, I feel like we can do it. I promise to start handling cases like you again. I promise to try my best. Thank you, Judy. From now on, I'm all yours."


	10. Phantom Pains

Judy had left, and now Nick lay alone in his recovery room. He reached over to the nightstand, grabbing his wallet. He carefully removed a photograph from one of the pockets.

Nick stared at the photograph. Bogo had humored them well enough to take the picture for them, in return for them all shutting up about it. Inspector Nick was in the center with his smug grin. Maurice was crouching down in the back, a weary smile on his face and waving his hand. Honey was standing left of Nick, squeezing him in a big hug, beaming wide. Next to Honey was Duke, striking a goofy pose. Even Clawhauser was there, also in the back, giving a thumbs-up.

Nick wasn't interested in any of these parts of the photograph. Instead, his focus was in the bottom left corner of the image. The Nick in the picture had his paw on top of the head of a fennec fox. The fennec had grumpy eyes, showing that he was bothered by Nick's paw, but managed to keep a slight smile for the picture.

"Finnick..." Nick whispered. "I'll make them pay. I promise, big guy."


	11. Electric Sheep

"Why must the masses be so rowdy? They have an incessant need to dismantle any system the moment it becomes static, even if the system has done well by them." mused a female voice.

The sheep sat in a high-backed chair in front of a large, black, ornate desk. On the wall behind the chair was an expansive blue screen that illuminated the otherwise dark and empty room. Long red rugs were sprawled along the floor.

She spun around in her chair, facing her desk. She picked up the prototype pellet gun in her cloven hand.

"Maybe these little reminders will help them realize the importance of the systems in place. A few maulings here and there will raise racial tensions, and the populace will cling even tighter to the protection that Sybil provides."

She aimed the gun across the room at nothing in particular. "Poor Lionheart. You served your purpose as pawn admirably. Scare the masses by having someone so rich and powerful fall into madness. Intimidate them with the possibility of your weaponry, only to be squashed by the might of ZPD agents. To prove the power of our wonderful system."

Chief Dawn Bellwether let out a satisfied sigh.

"Fear always works." Her eye gleamed neon blue for a moment.

She pulled up a file on her computer of Inspector Judy Hopps. "And what an interesting case you have proven to be, Miss Hopps. Always so clear. And, apparently, not afraid to step a bit out of line. We'll be keeping an eye on you."


	12. Mammals Protect the Law

"So, Hopps. You stand by your claim that you made the right decision at the time?" questioned Bogo.

"Yes, I do." Judy stood in front of his large desk, unflinching in the face of her fellow Inspector. It had been one week since the assignment. She could feel the eyes and ears of all four Enforcers on her. She was the focal point of the office as she delivered her report. "Her Crime Coefficient was circumstantial; the spike was caused from extreme stress and bodily harm. After being taken into custody, the victim has shown great progress with her therapy. Her Psycho-Pass has improved greatly; although it is not the same as it was before the incident, she is already back at a healthy level."

Bogo raised his brow and looked over to Nick. "Wilde. Inspector Hopps fired a Paralyzer shot at you during the conflict. Do you have anything to add to her report?"

Nick shook his head. "Inspector Hopps fulfilled her duty. That's all there is to it."

Bogo and Judy exchanged looks before Judy dropped his attention from her, as if to dismiss her. She took a walk back to her seat and looked over to Nick. He looked up from the pawpsicle that he was licking and gave her a wink along with a smug grin.

Judy gave him a friendly smile and a wink back. Judy wanted to believe that she could always show everything to this fox, despite just meeting him. She finally found someone who thought so much like she did, and believed in her ideals of justice. Someone who believed in her ability as an Inspector. Around him, Judy felt like she was in the right place for the first time.


End file.
